for foreign front. with less than a month to go before the election mitt romney prepares to deliver a speech criticizing president obama's policies in the middle east. leap of faith. a daredevil sky diver gets ready to break the speed of sound. on ooh jump "from the edge" of space. marriage melee. amateur video shows an all out brawl breaking out during a wedding reception at a posh hotel. >> they just decked the bride. this is the "cbs morning news" for monday, october 8, 2012. good morning. good to be with you. i'm terrell brown. today president obama wraps up a two day west coast fundraising trip his last one out west of the campaign. in virginia today mitt romney delivers what aides are calling a major foreign policy address. paying particular attention to issues in the middle east.

we go to washington for more. >> reporter: good morning. that's right. mitt romney will continue -- contrast his foreign policy vision with that of president obama's today. now this is amid questions about the u.s. embassy attack in libya last month. meantime president obama is reaching out to hollywood for support. president obama is raising more cash in california today. last night at a star studded los angeles fundraiser the president joked about his lackluster debate performance following songs from katie perry and stevie wonder. >> they perform flawlessly night after night. i can't always say the same. >> reporter: the president also accused his opponent mitt romney of backing away from campaign promises. >> obviously the governor knows his $5 trillion tax cut isn't too popular so a few weeks before this election he's trying to pretend it doesn't exist.

>> reporter: romney is in virginia today for a rally and what is being called a major foreign policy address. excerpts from the speech have already been released. romney wants a change of course in the middle east including tougher sanctions on iran and he'll call on the u.s. to work with other nations to arm rebels in syria with weapons that can defeat president bashir al assad's army. at a rally in florida, romney promised to be a strong international leader if elected. >> when i'm president i'll take the care it takes to rebuild our principles and restore the principles that made america strong. >> reporter: the republican nominee couldn't resist taking another shot at the president's debate performance. >> now of course days later we're hearing his excuses and next january we'll watch him leave the white house for the last time. >> reporter: romney and the president have two more debates cancelleded. later this week is the vice presidential debate.

now the obama camp is dismissing the romney speech saying it's a third or fourth time to explain his global intentions. on a fundraising note the president raised $181 million last month. >> there are two presidential debates left in campaign 2012. but on thursday the vice presidential candidates go head-to-head. usually there's little attention paid to the debate between vp candidates who rarely play a role who wins the election but as bill plante reports, this year is different. >> reporter: it's biden versus ryan. age versus youth. a great society liberal. >> we're going to ask the wealthy to pay more. >> reporter: versus the tea party conservative. >> at a time when we have a jobs crisis in america wouldn't it be nice to have a job creator in the white house? >> reporter: biden became a u.s. senator when ryan turned 3.

and ran for president twice. he's been on many debate stages before. >> nothing like standing up before 70 million people. >> reporter: biden is a nonstop talker, prone to putting his foot in his mouth. >> vice president biden just today said the middle class over the last four years has been quote buried. we agree. nation" today there was no shortage of debate advice for both men. >> i think paul ryan has to address some specific questions about his budget plan but he also has to make it clear that it's his budget plan, mitt romney's plan is the one that will be implemented in the white house. >> biden has to be aggressive in this debate. that's not an easy thing to calibrate. you can go overboard and he's opposing a young, earnest guy that's a boy scout. >> reporter: many democrats believe that the president's poor showing of last week won't

really change the trajectory of this race unless, of course, the vice president is also perceived to lose his debate. that they fear could be a real problem. bill plante, cbs news, the white house. politics overseas. hugo chavez has been re-elected. he won his third six year term following a bitter campaign. chavez spent billions of dollars from oil revenue on anti-poverty programs while attacking the west particularly the united states. chavez has been treated for cancer since 2011. to weather. first significant sign winter is around the corner. much of the southern plains to the ohio valley is waking up to below normal temperatures. freeze watches and warnings cover the region this morning. some areas frost warnings are posted. the cool weather is spreading in to the northeast and midwest. and an update on a story from last week. border patrol agent killed on arizona's border with mexico was the victim of friendly fire.

agent nicholas ivie opened fire on fellow agents thinking they were armed smugglers. they returned fire killing ivie. the two set of agents were investigating a border sensor. they knew other agents were heading to the area but didn't know where they were. the pharmacy linked to the meningitis outbreak has recalled all its products. patients in nine states have come down with a rare form of fungal meningitis after receiving a tainted steroid shot. there are 91 confirmed cases and seven patients have died. the steroid is used to treat back inflammation and pain. cbs money watch time. california drivers get a break from high gas prices and a warning from lawmakers about two chinese tech firms. ashley morrison here in new york with more on that. >> reporter: relief may be days away for california drivers suffering through the highest gasoline prices in the nation. the average price of a gallon of regular is $4.66.

the surge is blamed on refinery and pipeline problems. prices are expected to come down soon since governor jerry brown ordered less expensive winter gasoline to be sold three weeks earlier than usual. overseas markets were lower after the world bank cut its growth forecast for asia. hang sang lost 1%. the nikkei is closed for a holiday. investors are braced for what is expected to be a disappointing round of quarterly earning reports this week starting tomorrow. first up alcoa a key component of the dow jones industrial average. for the week the dow ended 173 points higher while the nasdaq added nearly 20 points. the house intelligence committee is expected to release a report this morning that says two of china's leading technology firms pose a significant national security threat to the u.s. the investigation recommends american companies and the federal government should not do

business with huawei. the report warns of potential of cyber attacks from huawei and zte. both deny they are security threats. and "taken" was number one. it stars liam neeson as a retired fbi agent. the movie, "hotel transylvania" was second and "pitch perfect" came in third. a little something there for everybody. >> ashley morrison here in new york. thanks so much. >> extreme sky diver. a daredevil hopes to make history when he takes a big leap 23 miles above earth. this is the morning news. 23 miles above earth. this is the morning news. [ male announcer ] we put a week's worth of bad odors in a home.

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international space station, the unmanned private cargo flight took off from cape canaveral last night. on board is 1,000 pounds of supplies including ice cream for space station residents. this is the first of 12 private resupply missions since the space shuttle was retired. it's due to arrive at the international space station on wednesday. a little closer to home a sky diver will try to go where no others have. tomorrow he'll try to make the highest, fastest free fall jump in history. >> reporter: felix baumgartner's leap of faith back in july was to skydive from 96,000 feet. that's 18 miles above earth. his top speed in free fall, 536 miles per hour. >> felix has landed safely back to earth. >> reporter: tuesday morning he'll rise higher and fall faster a jump from the earth's stratosphere. that's 23 miles above new

mexico. you're going up to a very hostile environment. do you think you are ready for that? >> i know i'm ready for that because i've been trained the last five years. >> reporter: baumgartner, a 43-year-old austrian and elite sky diver will rise before daybreak and be lifted by a helium balloon. the assent will take three hours. temperatures will fall as low as minus 70 degrees. once he jumps, baumgartner wearing a pressurized suit will be in free fall for five minutes. his top speed could hit 700 miles per hour. he'll become the first human in free fall to break the speed of sound. >> nobody can tell me what happens to the human body in free fall when you fly super sonic speed. >> reporter: joe kittinger has held the skydiving record since 1960 when the air force captain jumped from 19 miles up. kittinger now 84 is helping to

train baumgartner to break his record. >> we have better suits and better equipment but the danger is still there. hasn't changed a bit. >> reporter: nasa and the u.s. air force will monitor baumgartner's jump to learn about high altitude limits on the human body. are you understandably nervous about that? >> oh, yes. this is stepping into the unknown. >> reporter: baumgartner says he's also confident as he's ready to take a plunge unprecedented in u.s. history. that could be really good or really bad. we'll have to see what happens. straight ahead your monday morning weather and in sports a historic night for drew brees and a post-season victory sealed with a kiss. post-season victory sealed with a kiss. food, meet flavor. flavor, meet food. it's time for swanson flavor boost. concentrated broth in easy to use packets. mix it into skillet dishes, for an instant dose of... hell-o! [ female announcer ] get recipes at flavorboost.com.

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here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. partly sunny in new york 60 degrees. partly sunny with a chance of a thunderstorm in miami 9. mostly sunny in chicago, 60 degrees. 66 in dallas. partly sunny in los angeles, 74 degrees. let's check your national forecast. much of the eastern u.s. will be cool with lower temperatures. showers are likely for most of the mid-atlantic states. from northern mississippi to the carolinas. midwest will be windy. west will be dry with cooler than normal temperatures. in sports this morning all four of baseball's post-season series are in full swing in the national league. cincinnati pitcher allowing one hit in seven innings and the

reds had plenty of damage. they shut out san francisco 9-0. two games to known lead in the series. in the other nl series washington nationals tyler moore knocks in the go ahead runs with a single. nats take game one 3-2. american league, yankees and orioles get their series started. game tied at 2-2 in the ninth. russell martin homers to left field. yanks add four more runs. win 7-2. in detroit tigers hoping this is the kiss that steals the series. he smooches the ball before tossing to first base. then gets out of a jam in the ninth inning. bottom of the ninth, sac fly to right. that brings home the winning run. tigers take it 5-4. they lead the series 2-0. in the nfl a recordg setting night for drew brees.

first quarter, for a touchdown. the 8th straight game he's tossed a td pass. breaking a record set by johnny unitas in 1960. they win 31-24. tony stewart triggered a 25 car pileup in the final lap at talladega. thanks tony. matt kenseth made it through the crash. he took the checker flag. sure they were looking for him after the race. when we come back wedding day mayhem a massive fight breaks out between wedding parties and all caught on tape. all caught on tape. i love my extrabucks rewards, and right now, they're doubling! so, when i shop -- i earn twice as much with double extrabucks rewards. that's two times the rewards! yeah, that's what double is. i know. i was agreeing with you.

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and the stars come out for president obama. the serious campaign cash the president hopes to raise ine golden state. join us for cbs 5 eyewitness news this morning... beginng at 4:30. ,,,, here's a look at the weather in some cities in the country. afternoon rain in washington, 66 degrees.

mostly collide -- mostly cloudy in atlanta, 65. sunny in st. louis, 64. 72 in denver. same deal in seattle, 65. philadelphia police are trying to determine why a wedding reception at a posh hotel turned into a brawl. the melee caught on amateur video. fights broke out not only among guests from the same wedding party at the hotel bar but with another wedding party. one person was arrested. an uncle of one of the bride's suffered a heart attack after that brawl broke out. in an east texas town the football season is just under way but a key part of the season is to be determined not on field but in a court of law. we have a report on prayer, cheerleaders and right to free speech. >> reporter: friday night under the lights in texas with the band, the fans, the players and something different. a banner with a christian message written by the school's cheerleaders.

>> we thought it would be a great message to get across. >> reporter: that message is at the center of a legal battle, the school superintendent banned the religious themed banners last month when a wisconsin group claimed they violate the separation of church and state. a judge has allowed the practice to continue until he rules. there were more religious signs than ever before from friends and family who say the cheerleaders messages on the banners are free speech. >> both the united states constitution and the texas constitution guarantee the right to freely express your religious viewpoints. >> reporter: the cheerleaders parents have hired an attorney to keep the christian banners. he says because the girls decided to use the bible verses on their own and not at the school's request, it's their protected speech. >> even at a school football game? >> yes. even at a school football game. >> reporter: still among the overwhelming support for the girls there are signs that some

believe religion has no place here including 2005 graduate lindsay. >> once you start doing it it's a slippery slope. here it's a very big christian community but what if somebody came out and wanted to put out a scripture from the koran or torah on it. would it get the same positive reaction? you do it for one group you have to do it for everybody. >> if the judge says you can't do this any more what would it be like for you >> it would be crushing to our team and to the football team and to many of our citizens. a football game sparked trouble in morgantown, west virginia. fans celebrating a victory started more than 40 fires in the street or in trash containers. five people were arrested. that kind of thing happens out there. coming up after your local news on cbs "this morning" newly uncovered audiotapes of president nixon's private conversations. i'm terrell brown. this is the morning news. president nixon's private

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this past weekend marked the 11th anniversary of operation enduring freedom when the first u.s. soldiers entered afghanistan. as american troops continue their withdrawal a force of 350,000 uniformed afghans are now defending their country. the question remains whether they can still hold off the taliban. >> reporter: the u.s. troop surge succeeded in taking back big chunks of territory from the taliban. but with the last of those 33,000 troops gone it's largely down to afghan security forces to hold on. lieutenant colonel leroy barker showed us an area past this checkpoint where taliban fighters persist. >> there's been operation after operation to kind of clear that area but not as easy as it looks. >> this used to be a u.s. base. now a checkpoint manned by afghan police protecting a vital road that's under constant

threat from the taliban but it still receives plenty of hands on u.s. support. this is what military officials call mentoring, training afghan security forces to standalone while still providing military back up. that includes teaching them to find home made bombs, the biggest threat here. >> ak-47 or remote device with wires on it, preserve that evidence. >> reporter: rick poor trains police on how to secure a crime scene. sort of a csi kandahar. there has been progress. afghan forces now take the lead role in defending against attacks like the taliban assault on the u.s. embassy in kabul. nato officials say afghans now participate in 90% of military operations. that's cause for optimism says this analyst. >> if you give them a gun and tell them where the enemy is and

you ask them to maybe cover for each other as they move from, you know, rock to rock or building to building they can do that simple stuff because they are fighters. >> reporter: yet afghan forces remain vulnerable. last month they failed to stop a suicide bomber killing 12 foreigners. 11 years after u.s. troops and allies toppled the taliban, afghan forces are still unable to hold their own against a determined enemy. coming up after your local news on cbs "this morning" new poll numbers in the presidential race and a preview of mitt romney's foreign policy speech today at the virginia military institute. plus the latest on the meningitis outbreak. we'll talk to a doctor with the national foundation for infectious diseases and the recent drop in iphone thefts around the country and why that's actually got police

worried. that and more later on cbs "this morning." for now that will do it for us on this monday morning. i'm terrell brown. take care, everybody. have a great day. ,,,,

>> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald good morning, everybody. it is monday, october 8. i'm frank mallicoat. >> i'm michelle griego. time now 4:30. windows smashed and paint thrown on buildings including oakland city hall during an anti-imperialist rally and